The ranking Republican lawmakers on the Maine Legislature’s Appropriations Committee have come out against a bill that would increase MaineCare coverage for noncitizens.
“We, the ranking Republican members of the Joint Standing Committee on
Appropriations and Financial Affairs, write in opposition to LD 782, ‘An Act to Amend
MaineCare Financial Eligibility Requirements,'” wrote State Sen. Susan Bernard (R-Aroostook) and Rep. Jack Ducharme (R-Madison) in a Wednesday letter to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.
“This bill proposes increasing the income and asset limits for several MaineCare
populations and expanding the population of noncitizens eligible for MaineCare aged 20 and younger to those aged 22 and younger,” they wrote.
Under current state law, noncitizens legally admitted to the U.S. under 21 years of age are eligible for Medicaid, granted that coverage is allowable by federal law. The statute in question deals with defining rules regarding Medicaid coverage for the elderly, children, pregnant women and disabled individuals.
LD 782, sponsored by Sen. Denise Tepler (D-Sagadahoc), would amend state law to raise the age of Medicaid eligibility for noncitizens to under 23 years of age.
The bill would also expand coverage under MaineCare by raising family income limits to above the poverty line, and asset limits from $8,000 to $15,000 for an individual, and from $12,000 to $25,000 for a household.
“While no fiscal note is available at this time, this bill will undoubtedly cost millions of dollars and further strain a program that remains perpetually underfunded,” Sen. Bernard and Rep. Ducharme wrote.
Last month, the Legislature passed a $118 million “continuing services” budget in order to bailout the MaineCare program.
“Choosing to expand MaineCare eligibility at such a time when it is already severely
underfunded is ill-advised at best and financially reckless at worst,” the Appropriations Committee Republicans wrote. “While we can certainly empathize with the desire to provide coverage to more elderly and disabled individuals, the Legislature’s failure to address the program’s existing long-term sustainability makes such considerations irresponsible.”
“Maine government must learn to meet its existing obligations and promises before
making new ones,” they wrote, urging the Health and Human Services Committee to vote ought not to pass on LD 782.
The bill had a public hearing before the Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, and will be scheduled for a work session before potentially advancing before the House and Senate.
Read Sen. Bernard and Rep. Ducharme’s full letter below:
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="37768 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=37768">9 Comments
Fuckit, let em do what they want. After its burned to the ground we’ll sweep up the ashes and dump them in the trash with the people who caused it. Like senator Kennedy said, let em talk, they are their worse enemy.
And THIS comes after I read about spending $ 800,000 on some brain dead illegal alien so they can have a warm clean bed in some “ Rest Home “ in Oakland . Are you kidding me ?
It would be one thing if Janet Mills had a printing press for money in her basement at the governors mansion , but she doesn’t !
She takes the money from YOU and ME and spends it for shit like this !
WHAT will it take for Maine voters to wake up to what is REALLY happening down in LaLa Land .?
Has Mills started a Go Fund me page for this? It would be a good way for the democrats to put THEIR money where their moths are.
The current body/corpse politic is already doing this and now they ask the serf-constituents for affirmation? To what end? To appoint some hack’s retarded brother-in-law to yet another useless position and create another supporter of an equally useless administration? How quaint. We are only the fifth highest taxed state in the nation but apparently, they want to be number one.
“republicans oppose” how about refering these corrupt dems to the DOJ? these republicans know the game the dems play… they dont do anyhting unless its for power and money!!
It’s probably just me but the more I see of the current Augusta clown car the more I am reminded of Jack Nicolson’s line of “Go crazy somewhere else, we’re all stocked up here.”j
Hasn’t a noncitizen already ripped off and stole thousands if not millions from mainecare dollars already. So now you think that the state should open up the requirements and classify all noncitizens as eligible as well?
Finally, a semblance of sanity in refusing to support using more money we don’t have for people who shouldn’t even be here. It’s a start.
I love how all Maine media considers this new legislation as being the one that will fund MaineCare for non-citizens, when in fact this bill is just EXPANDING MaineCare for them. If they are 20 years old or younger, we’ve been paying their medical bills the entire freaking time. I also love how this corrupt Marxist Administration feigns “shock” over the MaineCare budget shortfall. As if they have absolutely no idea how it could be possible. Bunch of self important and delusional communists if you ask me.